Washington County, UT Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

The county's zoning definitions in § 10-4-1 define EXOTIC ANIMALS as "animals not historically found on farms in Washington County," including animals "commonly found in zoos and animal preserves" that are not historically endemic to the area. " That means a resident in an R, FR, RE, SFR or similar residential zone cannot keep an exotic animal at all, regardless of lot size. The rule loosens only in the RA agricultural zones and in the Open Space Transition (OST) zone: under § 10-6B-3, "Exotic animals on parcels of twenty (20) acres or larger" are listed as a conditional use requiring planning commission and county commission approval, alongside similarly restricted uses like dog kennels on 20-plus-acre parcels.

Outside of RA zones and that narrow OST conditional-use path, exotic animal keeping is not a permitted use anywhere in the county's residential zoning framework, making this one of the more restrictive animal provisions in the code. The planning commission retains discretion to classify a borderline species as an exotic animal based on whether it is indigenous to the local agricultural area.